User name:

Password:

Login


Sign in with Facebook


Not already a member?
Join our community and - Rate & review pubs - Upload pictures - Add events JOIN for free NOW


Chat about:
Random news of the day with Tris39 on the Pub Forum

The Porter, Bath

15 George Street
Bath
BA1 2QS

Return to pub summary

Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blackthorn _ left this review about The Porter

Since my previous review this has undergone an extensive renovation and is now something of an uber pub split across four floors. The basement remains as a music/comedy venue whilst the former pub on the ground floor is now an upmarket restaurant known as Clayton’s Kitchen. The pub part is on the first floor although it’s now more of a trendy bar than your traditional boozer, whilst the top floor is apparently a “library and study”.

The bar area consists of a couple of rooms with a small hallway in between and has wood strip flooring, slate style wallpaper and various artwork on the walls. The bar counter has a rolled copper top and it generally exudes an air of expensive plushness. Despite being something of a cocktail venue (the friendly barman rustled up something gin based for Mrs. B) it also has something of a craft beer offering and is hence all keg. On this occasion the range consisted of Camden Ink Stout, The Kernel, Bellerose, Cromarty’s 2 Craigs Unstout, Bristol Beer Factory’s Heffe, Jaipur IPA, Arbour’s Black Stout and Thornbridge Tzara. Ciders meanwhile were Aspall’s Harrow Sparrow and Devon Mist.

As previously mentioned, the restaurant area is quite upmarket and has a contemporary appearance. It seems very popular and the waiter turned away a number of prospective punters suggesting that they needed to book two or three weeks in advance to be able to get a table on a Saturday evening. Main courses were in the £15 - £20 range and whilst it was no doubt all top quality nosh some of it was not quite what we had expected. Fillets of lemon sole with a chive sauce for example came swimming in a pool of cream and was far too rich. Conversely, a Cannon of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes was really very good indeed. Deserts were a similarly mixed bag with a salted caramel chocolate mousse being quite exquisite, whilst a lemon meringue pie was in a deconstructed form.

Overall I enjoyed our visit here and would happily return to try something else, but if you’re after a more traditional boozer then this may not be the best option.

On 4th March 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blackthorn _ left this review about The Porter

A decent sized pub just a few yards away from the top of Bath’s premier shopping street, it’s nonetheless sufficiently away from the main tourist drag that it doesn’t get quite as rammed on a Saturday afternoon as many of it’s city centre compatriots. It’s a little tricky to get in to with the two most prominent doors being closed off – instead you have to walk around the corner and up an alleyway before you manage to find the entrance.

The main part of the pub is split in to three areas – two rooms down a few steps and facing out on to the high pavement, whilst a smaller room at the other end houses the bar counter. Decor is predominantly wood, with rough bare boards and several partitions to break up the front rooms in to booths. Paintwork is a very pale shade of green, and there were a plethora of small wooden stools around – far more than would have fitted at the available tables I would have thought. There was also some wooden bench seating around the perimeter as well as a few metal tables and chairs outside, although on a recent January afternoon it was to my mind a few degrees too cold inside the pub, never mind sitting outside.

Downstairs is apparently a cellar bar, although we did not investigate this. Numerous posters on the walls advertised up and coming bands, and it would seem that this is something of a music venue, as well as having an open mic night on Tuesdays. There was a projector and screen in one corner, but this was retracted out of sight on a recent visit. This is apparently Bath’s only vegetarian pub, although we didn’t check the menu to see what it consisted of. There were a few tapas dishes chalked up on a board above the bar.

Beers on tap were Doom Bar and Spa. There was a third pump at the bar, but this appeared to have recently run out. The solitary cider was Stowford Press.

On 30th January 2012 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


ROB Camra left this review about The Porter

L shaped pub up on a walkway. It looks like it was two separate shops once that have been broken through. It’s fairly basic with wooden settles and stools but it’s also a pleasant place. It’s a bit bohemian, but then again isn’t a lot of Bath. There are 3 handpumps on the bar but only two beers on. I tried a pint of Abbey Bellringer and was served a pint of foul smelling sludge instead. It was changed with no fuss for a pint of Skinners Betty Stoggs which was good enough for me to have a second pint. Maybe I’m being pedantic here but, if a pub claims to be Baths first vegetarian pub then how come they were selling two beers whose breweries use finings (fish swim bladders) to clear the beer. That’s not vegetarian is it?

On 27th April 2010 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3224 recommendations about 3135 pubs]